Oct 11, 2010—Last week, we held our second annual RFID Journal LIVE! Middle East event. Last year's conference was somewhat disappointing; we had great speakers, but the turnout was less than I had hoped for, due to the economic crisis and perhaps the lack of awareness in that region of radio frequency identification. We hadn't planned to hold a second event until the market matured a little, but I was approached by several vendors that felt LIVE! Middle East could help to promote awareness. So I agreed, knowing we would lose money on it.

The event this year was, shall we say, "intimate." We had approximately 85 people onsite, some of whom were from the largest automotive, oil and gas and construction companies in the region. These end users were more engaged than last year. They recognized that RFID could help them track assets, tools, vehicles, workers at hazardous job sites, and more. The questions asked of each speaker made it clear that attendees were really trying to understand how to deploy systems that would deliver value.

Several end users in the audience said they had deployed RFID systems that had not done the job for one reason or another, and that they ultimately had to be pulled out. These companies were still seeking solutions to their business problems.

RFID has always suffered from vendors and systems integrators who over-promise and under-deliver. One speaker noted that salespeople will claim tags can be read from 30 to 40 meters (98 to 132 feet) away, while engineers implementing an RFID system will say the distance is actually 10 to 15 meters (33 to 49 feet).

It's clear that the Middle East is behind, both in terms of education and in having a base of businesses that can deliver effective systems, so we'll continue to work on educating end users in the region. I think there are more services companies in that part of the world seeking to develop RFID expertise, because they recognize that there is a real business opportunity here.

The truth is that the region needs RFID, and here's why: First, most goods are imported, from seafood to apparel. That means products need to be tracked as they arrive by sea or air at ports, and as they move from ports to distribution centers, and then on to retail outlets. Given the oil wealth in the region, perhaps end users could afford to absorb the cost of inefficiencies in the supply chain. But the Middle East, like all areas of the world, has been hit hard by the global recession, and is thus less able to absorb the costs.

USER COMMENTS

Tian shidong

2010-10-11 02:48:55 AM

Project Manager
Dear Robert,
We are a small IT company based in Dubai that does RFID Solutions. However due to the economic climate we are struggling to survive and in the 'catch 22' position. We need to advertise to capture companies that are looking for RFID solutions here, but cannot afford to, as nobody buying!

Tian shidong

2010-10-11 02:58:12 AM

Project Manager
Dear Mark,
We are a small IT company based in Dubai UAE and are involved in supplying RFID solutions. However, we are struggling to survive in the present economic climate, and in a 'catch 22' position. We need to advertise to capture companies looKing for RFID, but cannot afford to, as nobody buying!
Regards,
Robin Andrew
absolute-it

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